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Some observations on Julian Assange’s extradition hearing so far, after a very hectic start (and a very long day!) yesterday.
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#FreeAssange 1/
Thread
#FreeAssange 1/
Yesterday morning, @StellaMoris1, @cmihr and I attempted to deliver @RSF_inter’s petition with more than 80,000 signatures calling on the UK authorities not to extradite Julian Assange. @10DowningStreet refused to accept it. 2/
Instead we brought our banner with the 80,000 signatures to the Old Bailey court, where we also addressed the @DEAcampaign protest. We reiterated our call for Julian Assange to be released, for the charges against him to be dropped, and for him not to be extradited to the US. 3/
Getting into this hearing is nearly impossible. The court has refused to recognise or accommodate the role of NGO observers, leaving us to fight for the very few spaces in the public gallery. At the start of yesterday’s hearing, only 2 members of the public were allowed in. 4/ https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1302960113972641793
Remote access for NGO observers has also been barred. Despite the fact that @RSF_inter received registration to access a live video link, this has now been revoked for us and other NGOs (including @amnesty and @pen_int). I tried to log in this morning and was promptly removed. 5/
My colleague @cmihr and I eventually gained physical access to the court yesterday, but only after interventions by @GermanEmbassy and German political observers @HeikeHaensel and @dhbln, who have allocated seats in the court. @RSF_inter was the only NGO able to get in. 6/
Besides these severe restrictions on NGO observers, only a dozen journalists were present in the overflow courtroom, with others telling us they were denied. This is insufficient for a hearing of such high public interest. https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1303001408719982592?s=21 7/ https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1303001408719982592
Once we finally got in, there wasn’t much to actually observe. The judge dismissed the defence’s application to adjourn the hearing, and then there was extensive technical disruption interrupting Mark Feldstein’s attempt to testify via video link. 8/
I’ve been told today’s sitting has just started. We don’t currently have access as I was kicked off the video link. We will attempt to gain physical access after the break - again with intervention from political observers. This should not be needed. 9/
I’ve said this many times before: we have never faced such extensive barriers in attempting to monitor any other case in any other country as we have with proceedings in the UK in Julian Assange’s case. This is extremely worrying in a case of such tremendous public interest. 10/
We also must remember what’s at stake in this case: @RSF_inter fully believes Assange has been targeted for his contributions to public interest reporting. His prosecution would have severe lasting implications for journalism & press freedom. We call again for his release. /11
